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Woman killed at show and shine Jeep event in Edmonton

A 20-year-old woman is dead after she was pinned by a Jeep in a “tragic accident” at a charity Jeep enthusiast event in downtown Edmonton, say witnesses.

Police tape surrounded the southwest corner of Oliver Square near 104 Avenue and 118 Street Saturday afternoon at the Jeeps Go Topless Day charity event where an orange Jeep was tipped on its side next to a silver Jeep with it’s hood dented in.

The Edmonton Police Service said the crash happened shortly after 1 p.m. when a climbing stunt between two Jeeps went awry, causing the orange Jeep to lose control and strike a female spectator near the parked silver Jeep.

“A pedestrian was struck by one of the vehicles and was severely injured and it’s now been determined to be a fatality,” said Insp. Chad Tawfik.

“She was standing nearby when this happened.”

Tawfik said there were hundreds of people in the area at the time and bystanders attempted to perform CPR on the woman but were not successful.

The driver of the orange Jeep was also taken to hospital with unknown injuries, he said.

Traffic was shutdown on 104 Avenue near the crash as officers investigated.

The EPS Victims Services unit was called to the scene to help console witnesses, said Tawfik, some of whom were children.

“It’s an extremely traumatizing event,” he said.

“Most of these people are avid motor vehicle enthusiasts. They come to an event like this not expecting something like this to happen so obviously it’s traumatic to them.”

Desiree Hallworth witnessed the accident and was one of the first to dial 911. She said the two drivers were performing a “clearly practiced” stunt where the orange Jeep drove up on another Jeep’s tire.

“To me, it seemed like he gave it a little too much getting off the tire...,” she said.

“He tried to steer but steered right into the silver Jeep and there was a woman leaning against the jeep and he drove up on top of her.”

Hallworth said she was terrified by the accident but doesn’t believe it was the driver’s fault. She said organizers lacked safety standards and allowed people to get too close to the Jeeps during the trick.

“They should have had it blocked off so people couldn’t be so close in case something went wrong and it did,” she said.

The Jeeps Go Topless event is co-organized by the Bentall-Kennedy property managers and the Alberta JK Association of Jeep enthusiasts to raise money and food donations for Edmonton’s Food Bank.

Property Manager Tom Pandos said he wasn’t present during the accident, but he says that trick had been performed multiple times both that day and at last year’s event.

“They’ve done it may times, that’s what these Jeeps are all about,” he said.

“They have special lifts and springs and everything else so they’re all proud of what their vehicles can do. This is a freak scenario.

“Whether it was something to do with clutch or gears, I don’t know.”

Police are in the process of notifying the woman’s next of kin and investigating the circumstances leading to the accident, including whether people were standing too close and whether or not the Jeep experienced a mechanical failure.

“We are in the process of looking for more information,” said Tawfik.

“Probably people were taking video of this type of demonstration. If anyone does have video, if they could contact police... that would be helpful for the investigation.”

Barry Cherneske re-lights candles after a 20-year-old woman was killed at a Jeep event in Oliver Square earlier in the day in Edmonton, Alta. on Saturday, May. 18, 2013. Amber Bracken/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency